Arrests welcomed in Moscow double murder

We issued this statement following today’s announcement by Russia’s Investigative Committee at the Prosecutor General’s Office that two individuals have been arrested and charged with the January 19 murder in Moscow of human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasiya Baburova. The two suspects are 29-year-old Nikita Tikhonov and 24-year-old Yevgeniya Khasis, identified in the press as members of a neo-fascist group. Reports identify Tikhonov as the shooter and Khasis as the woman who followed Markelov and Baburova, and informed Tikhonov of their whereabouts...

"We welcome this progress in solving these brutal murders and commend the Investigative Committee for its work thus far,” said CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova. “We call on the Investigative Committee to make the results of its probe public as soon as possible. The issue of whether the suspects acted on their own or followed orders remains unanswered. We urge investigating officials to clarify that.”